Windows Phone Users Likely To Overtake BlackBerry In US By November; Android, iOS Users To Maintain Lead

By Valli Meenakshi Ramanathan | August 21 2012 6:01 AM

The Windows Phone is all set to garner a third rank in the mobile OS race in the U.S. by November 2012, due to the continuous downslide of the BlackBerry market share, web usage data from StatCounter revealed.

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The projections are based on the current adoption rates, wherein data shows that the BlackBerry market share has eroded from 6 percent to around 3 percent since the beginning of 2012.

On the other hand, the Windows Phone adoption is witnessing growth at a slower rate climbing from under 1 percent market share to about one-and-a-half percent, Techradar reported.

If BlackBerry and the Windows Phone OS continue their present trend, the Windows Phone will easily overtake BlackBerry with less than 2 percent mobile OS market share.

The ranking gains credence at present as the war is being waged for the third place in the smartphone OS market share. Though BlackBerry holds the third slot for now, it may change later this year, WebProNews reported.

WMPoweruser, an independent Windows Phone community on the web noted that the launch of the Windows Phone in October or November in the United States is likely to bolster the trend, strengthening the Windows Phone as the smaller third player in the United States.

The PCWorld stated in its report that Microsoft and Nokia have scheduled an event on Sept. 5, where it is hoped that companies may announce the next version of the Windows Phone. The version is not backward compatible with the current OS, although the release of the software will receive an upgrade to version 7.8, to make its interface appear similar to that of WP8.

The BlackBerry maker Research In Motion is facing delays in rolling out the next OS and the BlackBerry 10 handset may be available in the first quarter of 2013, PCWorld added.

A third rank in the United States operating system market may not make the Windows Phone OS popular since less than 2 in 100 smartphone users may be using the OS, WMPoweruser noted.

The scheduling of the Windows phone event ahead of the Apple iPhone 5 event in September also warrants careful examination to review how users rate the Windows Phone OS versus the iOS and Android camps.